[MCL968]

ARE YOU CRAZY! Cabot Cove is one of the most dangerous places in the country. I used to marvel at how people died there every week, sometimes two or three in a single hour! That place makes Detroit look Disneyland. And WHY didn't one of the federal agencies step in and investigate this murder cluster? It went on for 12 years!

 

I'm in, but I may stay at a "safer" hotel.

 

No plans to attend the Porsche thing in Spokane. It's about 850 mi from Mendocino, which is kind of a serious trek, even in a 968.

 

Matt

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[az968]

You should talk, look how close you live to Las Vegas where the CSI team was finding decomposed and cut up bodies every week! And that went on for 15 years!


Talk about going into the danger zone.

 

Bob

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[lbpesq]

I'd prefer the July dates for my own selfish reasons. My mom's 92nd birthday is June 22. My wife and I plan on flying to NY for the occasion. The proposed June dates would require us to either spend the previous weekend in NY and miss the actual birthday, or skip the gathering - neither choice is great. The July dates solve the problem. Also, better chance for excellent weather in July.


Bill

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[lbpesq]

Thankfully this thread is still open, (but for how long?). If it gets shut down, I hope we can still arrange this by email.


Censorship is fundamentally unacceptable, no matter who is doing it or how well-intentioned the rationalization for doing so.


Bill

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[Langley968]

We may need an executive order to keep it open!

Oops that "crossed the line", now it may disappear forever...........

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

I would be happy to arrange winery tours in Mendocino. I have plenty of connections. I can also test a route if there is a preliminary one.

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[az968]

Guys, I'm still working on the organization of the event. Bill, unfortunately it is looking more like the June date. I have a couple of routes to share with Kaj on the winery tours, that will be a great help to have someone of Kaj's expertise picking out the best places to visit!


Working on a barbque dinner on the beach for Sat night, some more details to work through.

Sorry I've been silent for so long, other priorities to deal with.


Let's make it happen!

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[Delaney]

This sounds like fun! Finally got the 968 rolling right. June dates should work for me.

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

I am in favor of the Mendocino (base) loop hwu 1 south to 128 then winery stops at Anderson Valley and then return (route TBA)

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

Initial decisions to make:

 

Find a base Hotel. (Mendocino would be my favorite)

 

Time frame (Friday afternoon through Sunday leaving hotel Monday AM?)

 

Saturday/Sunday events

 

I think one day should be devoted to a scenery rally and one to winery visits. From my experience in that business (I only have 40 years) a winery visit, especially if it includes lunch, takes a long time. We would be lucky to pack in two wineries plus driving in a full day.

For your discussion and response please.

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[flash]

FWIW for the 14 years i produced this event, we managed 4 wineries a day, with no real effort.

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[Langley968]

FWIW for the 14 years i produced this event, we managed 4 wineries a day, with no real effort.

 

And we felt "good" after the 4th... LOL 

If well organized, it is amazing how much you can pack into a day!

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

I can pack in as many wineries as the folks want. It's just a question of making the stops pleasant and not a "OK, folks 10 minutes and then back in the bus" kind of event. Let's see what everyone is in the mood for. Remember winetasting requires spitting out the wine after tasting it and not drinking. Wonder how many wine tasters follow that rule?

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[flash]

we never had the problem of time.  it's all about organization.  granted, event production is what i do, but still, it's not rocket science.  the wineries knew in advance that we were coming, and what time.  they were prepared.  the biggest hurdle is to get people to park the cars, get out of them, and into the winery, not stand around gabbing, and leave that for back at the hotel.  more than an hour at any winery, and you really have lost the impact.  starting at about 11, and keeping the wineries close together, it's really very easy to get in 4.  3 is a no brainer.

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[az968]

So the weekend as I've laid it out so far is to arrive at the hotel (Hill House Inn) on Friday afternoon/evening.

 

The route I have mapped out for Saturday is an all day drive down Hwy 1 from Mendocino to Bodega Bay for lunch and back. That's about 2.;5 hrs each way plus stops, very scenic. On the way back from lunch I am working on a few side routes to vary the return.  That will make for a very scenic drive day.  Sat night dinner at a small restaurant in Mendocino.

 

On Sun the drive would be a back route (about 1.5 hrs, approx 60 miles so you can estimate the number of twisties) into the Anderson Valley area near Boonville for wine tasting, etc.  Depart the hotel around 10, get to Boonville around 11:30.  The drive back to Mendo from there will take about an hour through the redwoods (Highway 128). Need to work in lunch (hopefully can find a winery that can accommodate that). That would leave about 3 hrs for tasting? So 3 wineries at an hr each? Does that seem right?

 

People that want can cut out Sunday after wine tasting, otherwise Sunday night at the hotel and depart for home on Monday.

 

There isn't any date that works for everyone, that's been a hold-up.  So it appears the June 23-25 date will have to be it.  I'll post the hotel reservation info the first of the week.

 

Thoughts/suggestions/flamethrowing?

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[flash]

no flames - just thoughts.  

 

one of the key things that led to successful events was to limit the driving times.  2.5 hours each way is a very long drive.  i have found that more than a half hour and the attendance and participation falls off dramatically.  most people just don't want to drive that much.  when i did have a longer drive, it was always terminated at the next destination, and never came back again.  factor in wine tasting and a meal, and you have some very tired people.  also, putting a twisty run into the mix on tasting day is a recipe for disaster.  this is the thing that has been wrong with all of the PCA events i have attended.  they just don't get it.

 

a thought would be to start in one town, have a shorter drive, and then tasting, and then end at the hotel, get up the next morning, and end in another town, and a different hotel.

 

as for how many wineries, i was saying that an hour at each does it, but you have to add transit time, parking lot time, last minute bathroom time, etc.  15 minutes on each end of each should do it.  3 wineries would need 4.5 hours.  that's why we would have a brief funrun, start tasting at 11 (can't drink wine any earlier than that) do 1 before lunch, and 2-3 after (depending on the wineries involved - boutiques take less time than big ones, etc).  that would end us about 6.  worked pretty well.

 

do yourself a big favor on the lunch.  pre-arrange the menu, and charge in advance.  if you get a big group, you can get lost in dealing with the ordering and paying.  if you try to let people order, and put it on one check, and let them pay for "their share" you will get stuck with people who don't tip the required 25% for a big group, and you get stuck with the bill for the short.  if you let them order separately, and pay separately, you spend a ridiculous amount of time dealing with it.

 

hope that helps.

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[ds968]

I for one always dreaded the thought of driving any more than 45 min - 1 hr ( absolute max .) at our past events . And I'm talking about total round trip ! I realize how ironic that may sound , but I can drive that damn car anytime I want on fun roads, and not be part of a caravan ...which is not something I usually enjoy . So it was 99% about the social interaction with our fellow 968-ers, and the wineries added an extra rest & relaxation nuance to the whole thing . But as time passes on, I'm becoming less and less inclined to participate in these things, I simply don't do well in a crowd , I'm not a " social butterfly " so generally I am much more drawn to a small group of 2 or 3 people max .. Beyond that my ADD gets the best of me ..

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[94SilverCab]

"start tasting at 11 (can't drink wine any earlier than that) "

 

I object...

 

Jay

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[williamoss]

Is there anyway to resurrect the Community map? This was a map which showed the locations of all the members. Since many will not drive more than 2 hours this would allow other members to have a reunion near them i.e. not in California or close to it.  If the map cannot be started again how about a listing of the name and location that could be sorted. This way someone who lives as I do in Portland OR could sort the list by location i,e. the state that someone lives in and have their own reunion.

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[flash]

that is going to have to be something for the new owners to deal with, assuming they get together and make the deal.

 

as for the morning wine, i guess champagne counts, and i start that pretty danged early.

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